Yep, we get it, the ECOTI's not cheap unfortunately, but it's the latest and greatest military technology--and there's the added wrinkle of the fact that we can't buy it cheaper than the government gets it, and Optics 1 has picked up a lot of big contracts recently, which is why they became restricted in the first place.

Previously they were available commercially largely through what was a "loophole" in their distribution system that they closed just when demand started going up--so instead of licking our wounds, we've been working since then to not only get them made available again, but as factory direct partners and exclusive, authorized commercial distributors.

As many who participate here already know, we're not only retailers at TNVC, but while many of us come from professional end-user communities, we are first and foremost enthusiasts--we're in this business because we love it and we want to share it, not just to make money.

When restrictions are imposed on us by manufacturers it breaks our hearts, because we see badass technology that we are not allowed to sell to commercial customers, to all legal U.S. citizens and patriots because even though night vision and thermal are not covered under the Second Amendment explicitly, as warfighters and armed professionals, we understand intimately the advantages and capabilities that these technologies offer any lawfully armed citizen.

Unfortunately some technologies are restricted by law and regulations, and we can no more openly sell these to commercial customers than a firearms manufacturer can sell select-fire weapons to the general public, as much as we may want to. However, for other products, where no legal restrictions exist, we have and will always work tirelessly to make them available to all consumers and citizens, not just government customers or "special snowflakes" who leverage connections and back-door deals to get items that others can't have so they can "flex" online.

~Augee

It's in the product listing, but since we can't link direct to our website here:

- You need to sign an ITAR acknowledgement that you understand and agree to comply with ITAR and the penalties for violation

- You must submit proof of U.S. citizenship and photo ID (e.g., either a passport or driver's license and social security card)

- Your billing and shipping name and address will all need to match (to prevent third-party purchases and/or re-mailing services)

- Adult signature required for delivery (which we do for all night vision and thermal anyways)

Optics 1 is understandably cautious about this product getting into the wrong hands, so they want to make sure that they and we all do our due diligence to prevent that from happening as a condition of making them commercially available.



The accessories are... priced in line with the unit itself.



But yes, we will have them all available, including the GPS-enabled battery pack.

And no, unfortunately, the ECOTI power supply is not compatible with the COTI.

The mounting brackets are compatible, and the eyepiece adapter will work with the ECOTI, but it will only give you a 20 degree FOV--there is another, more expensive 30 degree eyepiece adapter for the ECOTI/ECOSI.

~Augee

It admittedly takes a little longer to get used to--it is and was one of my major gripes that they did away with the little "paddle" from the COTI.

The buttons take a little longer to learn, but it's not like it's rocket surgery, like any other piece of equipment, once you learn it it's pretty easy to use, it just isn't as "here dummy, use this" as the paddle was.

~Augee

Minimum buy isn’t really the issue—on the one hand, yes, we absolutely had to put our money where out mouth is, but Safran/Optics 1 does not operate in way that becoming a dealer/distributor for them gives you access to their whole product line/catalog, rather each product is managed separately, and getting the approvals up and down the chain for commercial sales of the ECOTI was not an inconsiderable amount of work, not just for us, but for our friends and allies at Optics 1 that helped make this happen.

I don’t want to make promises or create expectations, however availability of the ECOTI is a step forward, and could potentially lead to other opportunities down the line.

~Augee

The mount is pretty rigid and in genera there’s no real calibration “process,” the factory offset settings are already programmed more or less for infinity focus, and the mounts ensure proper alignment of the image that usually matches up without adjustments.

That being said, the offsets can be manually adjusted in the menu if you want to tweak them beyond factory settings.

Regarding combining it into a single housing... that’s essentially what the AN/PSQ-20 ENVG is, which has a pricetag in the $20,000 range (the ENVGs are largely being discontinued for the ENVG-Bs, which are, as you might expect, even more expensive), and is neither lighter nor more compact than a PVS-14 with an ECOTI.

Moreover, most dedicated Fusion systems require specialized powered mount interfaces that means more added cost. Finally, there are obviously advantages and disadvantages to dedicated thermal units versus the ECOTI, however one of the advantages to having the thermal channel as a separate, stand alone unit, as dedicated units tend to be extremely complex and difficult to maintain, and a small problem can end up deadlining the entire unit, leaving you with no night vision at all while it is being repaired.

Another advantage of course is that dedicated fusion manufacturers have yet to authorize direct commercial sales of fusion units to consumers with full support, though gray market units exist on the market.

Again, while we understand that the price might cause sticker shock for some, the ECOTI really is the least expensive, lightest, and least complex way to get this level of capability, whether you’re talking about government-only restricted systems or commercially available systems.

~Augee

I’m not sure where you got this information, but this is not accurate.

Someone’s given you wrong information.

~Augee

Thanks for the business T and sorry for the long wait back then. It was very challenging at that time getting these out.

We've been working extremely hard with Safran/Optics 1 since that time to insure the commerical market can have access to some incredible technology. We're extremely happy with the outcome besides the rumors these would never become available.

Thanks again for your trust in us.

When you place your order. Thank you.

They're coming...Just not on our web site as yet. Thank you.